Thread control for weft replenishing looms



Dec. 16, 1952 R G. TURNER THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Feb. 1, i951 INVENTOR RICHARD G. TURNER ATTORNEY R. G. TURNER 2,621,682

THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT REPLENISHiNG LOOMS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Dec. 16, 1952 Filed Feb. 1, 1951 INVENTOR RICHARD G. TURNER 81W. WW

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 16,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THREAD CONTROL FOR WEFT" REPIJENISHING LOOMS- Richard Turner, Worcester, Mass assignor a" cmmpten- & Knowles Loom Works; Worcester," Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 1, 1951, SerialNo. 208,857-

This invention relates to thread contrql'lers for thread holders in weft replenishing looms and it isthe general; objector theinvention to provide means auxiliary to the threadholder effective to move the thread ofa-transferredbobbin toward the threadlholder. a g A form of thread holder which has gone-into general use includes pneumatic means to' draw the threads or weft ends extending} from reserve bobbins in: a magazine into; an intake mouth and'thence into-athread collector. v Sub atmospheric pressures existing within' the thread collector hold-the threadslin the mouth; tauttokeep them above the reciprocating; lay an cl these pressures are! also eifective whencertaintypes of'weft are used to removetheQtlriread'oi a; transferred bobbin when the latter is cut at the selvage of the cloth, Whenhairyweft' yarns are used however difi'iculty is experienced in drawing the cutthr'eadtof atransferred bobbin; into the thread collector and it isan important object of the present invention; to provideyan advancer for the-cut thread located between the pneumatic thread holderand the magazine ef fective to move the threadtowardthe intake mouth of the thread holderl H h V It is a furtherobject'ofthe ihventiomtqpro 'vide a thread advancer in the formof a rotatable cylinder having. a friction rsuriacefturning d ur ing loom operation in adirection toadvance-a thread in engagement therewith toward the intake mouthof the thread holder; V

Hairy yarns-show some tendency to stick to the friction surface oi the advancer arrd= it "is: a furtherobject of the -invention to provide a stripper between the rotating advancer;- and the thread holder effective to dislodge; the threads from the advancer at a; point adjacent to the intake mouth and preferably below a -1ine extending fromthe toprof; the advancer to the intake mouth so that theadvancer by itSfBngagement with the; thread wilt-tend to draw h la t r o w y I way? rosmethev roup of other threads-in the; intake mouth leading; to; the untransferred bobbins, U l a It is a still further object-oflthe invention to provide mechanism 1 operatingpreferably durin 100m operation to turn the aforesaid-threadedvancer so that it will be efiective during; picks or beats of the loom subsequent -toa transferring operation to move the;thread. oi a transferred bobbin toward} the thread; holder as soon as thislthread {is cut. at the-selvageg :4

It is another object} of; the-,inventign to locate; the. thread 'advancer insuch-position that it will be below the threads extending from the untransferredbobbinsin the magazine and be able to act'onlyon the thread of a transferred b bbi i- 2 w th e: n h r Obj s inrvi i b h' ll a a fa h i e qt i ei p q e q en mr ides i il elwmhi i qn-fl d rfii ment of parts hereinafter described andset' n. f aq qmp n n drew e w m i he vem ona e w e; a 2 Fig; lis a side elevation of' part of a loan; having the preferred' form of the invention applied r o; l

2 man-"enlarged plariviewlooking the c i n -arr w?" Fi -l1; '7 L p 1 I Fig. 3 is an-enlarged vertical section cr'iflirie -"2 ;u v-

Fig. 4 is an;en1arge d detail plaii view'lookii'i g in' the direction of arrovv fi Fig 1} part'sbei'ng" in-section, H enlarged end view looking in -thel Fig. 5 is an v H I U direction of arrow 5, Fig; 2, showing the" vance'rand associated [parts of the thread 'hol'dei Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section on line 6 -6, -v5 2 v Fig. is a diagrammatic view showing: the relation of the advancer toa"reservibo bbin ma azine, the lay of the pneumatic thread" holder for both forms ofitlieinventionj Fig. 8 is a plan view of pa t of the 10am? having the modified form of 'the invention applied thereto, and V V A Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical section on line' me-.3-

Referringparticularly to Fig; l, the loomlframe I supports a lay; 2 which is reciprocated back-i Wardly and f rd y b 'm ees i a we can: shaft 3 ndzcqnn rs;- h cy-h s azshli e': box 5 to'receive' a'shuttle S'which 'maybe one of several shuttles when the loomis of the multi' ty er. M ,2

The oqmifra e .s np rtspam z ne P L h n th pr entinsi ceis el he multi el rfltyi e d ste ;.rese yezu ra sf r d bo in nati n? een s nat d-here n; t Bk. BL, .33; n

B4. Weft ends or threads Wextendirom-thee 3 and operated by a lever it connected to the lay rod IT. During backward movement of the lay, or to the right as viewed in Fig. 1, the pump 13 creates subatmospheric pressures within the cylinder H.

The thread holder has a walled structure designated at 25 extending upwardly from the head l and having the interior thereof in communication with the interior of the cylinder II by means of an opening 2l in the head H]. A cover 22 extends across the top of the wall structure 28 and is hinged to the latter as at 23. The cover and that part of the wall structure adjacent to the magazine define a thread intake mouth 24. The weft ends W extend into this intake mouth and through the thread holder and opening 2| into the cylinder H. By reason of the subatmospheric pressures created within the cylinder the weft ends W are held taut above the back and forth path of the reciprocating lay.

At the time of a weft replenishing operation one of the reserve bobbins from the magazine will be pushed into a shuttle in shuttle box by a transferrer arm operating in usual manner. At this time the weft end or thread T corresponding to the transferred bobbin will descend to a position below the threads W of the untransferred bobbins. The replenished shuttle is then picked across the loom, or to the left as viewed in Fig. '7, and subsequently cutter mechanism designated generally at C will cut the thread T at a point spaced from the thread holder and preferably adjacent to the selvage. The cut thread falls from the point of cutting but because it still extends into intake mouth 24 it is subject to pneumatic traction. If the thread is of the smooth type it can be drawn into the cylinder H, but if the thread is of a coarse hairy type it may be so entangled with the other threads extending into the intake mouth that it cannot readily be drawn into the cylinder ll. When the thread T is cut by the cutter mechanism C it falls away from the cloth or fabric F and hangs from the thread holder. The matter thus far described may be similar to the thread holder set forth in my prior Patent No. 2,476,640 to which reference may be had for a more complete description of the structure and operation of the thread holder.

In carrying the preferred form of the present invention into effect a base plate is secured to head It! by screws 3| and has upright bearings 32 and 33 secured thereto as at 34 and 35, respectively. Rotatable in these bearings is a shaft 36 to which a thread advancer 31 is secured as by set screws 38. The advancer is shown herein as being in the form of a cylinder to the outer periphery of which is secured, as by cementing, a layer 39 of friction material, such as felt.

The right end of shaft 36 as shown in Fig. 3 has a reduced extension 40 on which is driven a ratchet wheel 4! which turns with the shaft and the advancer. A lever 42 is rockable on the shaft extension 48 and has an arm 43 to which is secured a stud 44. A pawl 45 is pivoted on the stud and is held yieldingly against the ratchet Wheel by a spring 46 one end of which is connected as at 41 to the pawl and the other end of which extends outwardly through a slot 48 in a drum 49 secured in angularly adjusted position on the stud 44 by set screw 58.

Lever 42 has a second arm 5| operatively connected to a rod head 52 secured to the upper 4 end of a rod 53. The rod head has a hole 54 therethrough to receive the lever arm 5|, and a washer 55 and cotter pin 56 hold the head to the lever arm 5|.

The lower end of rod 53 is pivoted as at 51 to an arm 58 secured to the rocker iron 59 of the loom. This rocker iron is secured to the usual rocker shaft RS which supports and rocks with the lay 2. As the lay reciprocates the arm 58 rises and falls to effect vertical reciprocation of rod 53.

The screws 31, in addition to holding the base plate 38 in position with respect to head It, also affords means for securing a stripper 58 and a guard 6| to the head. The stripper extends upwardly from plate 38 as shown in Fig. 5 and has an edge 62 which lies against the friction material 39 and engages the latter at a point below the line extending from the top of the rotary advancer 31 to the mouth 24 of the thread holder.

The guard has two arms 65 and 68 which extend upwardly and over the bearings 32 and 33, see Figs. 3 and 5. The purpose of the guards is to prevent thread T from passing down between either end of the advancer 31 and the adjacent bearing.

In the operation of the preferred form of the invention the rising and falling of rod 53 will cause the pawl 45 to advance the ratchet wheel with a step-by-step movement and turn the upper part of the thread advancer 31 toward the thread holder. Retrograde movement of the advancer is prevented by a hold pawl 68 also held in position by the screws 3| and engaging the ratchet wheel. The advancer 31 is preferably low enough so that it will have little or no contact with the thread T prior to cutting of the latter at the selvage. This relation is desirable but not essential. When thread T is eventually cut bythe cutter mechanism C as already described it will fall from the full line to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 7 and will rest on the advancer. As the latter is turned incident to loom operation the friction surface 39 Will move the thread T upwardly and advance it toward the intake mouth 24. The stripper will prevent the thread from clinging to the surface 39 and release the thread so that it can fall into the space between the advancer 3i and the thread holder. Subatmospheric pressures within the thread holder will tend to draw that part of the thread between the advancer and the holder into the latter, and eventually the entire thread will be moved upwardly and to a position where it can besucked into the intake mouth 24.

In the modified form of the invention shown more particularly in Figs. 8 and 9 the loom frame 10 has secured thereto a laterally extending frame 1| carrying a bearing 72 for atop or crank shaft 13 similar to shaft 3 described in connection with the preferred form of the invention. Secured to the shaft 13 as at 15 Ba flat friction plate or disk 16 having engagement with a friction roller 11 mounted for rotation on a stand 18 secured to'the frame H. This roller is secured to the core 88 of a flexible shaft designated generally at 8| and having a sheath 82 the right end of which as viewed in Fig. 8 is secured as at 83 to the stand 18.

The flexible shaft 8| extends forwardly and has its left end, Fig. 8, secured to a stand 85 fixed to the base plate 38. The core of the flexible shaft extends into and is secured to a shaft 81 similar to shaft 36 and having secured thereto a thread advancer 88 which is similar to the advancer 31. The bearings for shaft 81 and the manner of holding the advancer 88 to the shaft 81, as well as the thread guards'and stripper, may be thesame as similar parts described in connection with Fig. 3.

The roller 11 may have a frictionsurface provided for instance byrubber or similar material so that it will be rotated by frictional contact with the disk 16 as the top shaft 13 rotates incident to loom operation, and the core of the flexible shaft willcause the advancer 88 to rotate continuously as the loom operates and in the same direction as does roller 31. a

In this modified form of the invention it may be possible to cause several rotations of the advancer roll or member 88 for each pick of' the loom or rotation of the shaft 13, depending upon the diameter of the roller 11 and the distance between its point of contact with the disk 16 and the center of shaft 13. Except for the manner of driving the advancer 88 the modified form of the invention operates in a manner similar to that described for the preferred form.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simple means by which the cut thread of a transferred bobbin in a weft replenishing loom can fall across a thread advancer which moves in such direction as to advance the thread toward the intake mouth of a pneumatic thread holder. In the preferred form of the invention the advancer is a rotary member 31 rotated intermittently with a step by step motion produced by the pawl and ratchet mechanism shown more particularly in Fig. 5, whereas in the modified form of the invention the rotary advancer 88 is rotated continuously by connection with some part of the loom. It will not be necessary in all instances, however, to have the advancers moved by the specific mechanisms shown herein. The stripper 60 prevents the thread T from being wrapped around the advancer and enables the latter to move the thread T toward the thread holder. The stripper preferably engages the periphery of the advancer at a point low enough to enable the rotating advancer to effect some downward motion of the thread toward the thread holder before stripping occurs. The guards 6| prevent the thread from falling on the bearings for the advancer. In both forms of the invention the advancer engages only the thread of the transferred bobbin without engaging the other threads, and, is therefore able to move this thread independently of the threads connected to the untransferred bobbins in the magazine.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In thread controlling means for a loom having a group of threads extending from reserve bobbins in a magazine and wherein the thread of a transferred bobbin is cut, a pneumatic thread holder into which the threads are drawn due to subatmospheric pressures existing within the holder, a thread advancer adjacent to the thread holder on which the cut thread of the transferred bobbin falls, and means moving the advancer in a. direction to move said thread toward said thread holder.

2. The thread controlling means set forth in claim 1 wherein the thread advancer is a rotary and out of "engagement with the group of threads:

extending from thebobbins in the magazine.

6. The thread controlling means set forthin claim 1 wherein the thread advancer is a rotary member and said means includes a ratchetwheel fixed with respect to the-rotary member and a loom operated pawl. 1 a V 7. The thread controlling means set forth in claim 1 wherein the thread advancer is a rotary member and the loom has a lay and the means includes a pawl and ratchet mechanism operated by the lay.

8. In thread controlling means for a loom having threads extending from reserve bobbins in a magazine and wherein the thread of a transferred bobbin is cut from the cloth being woven, a pneumatic thread holder into which the threads are drawn due to subatmospheric pressures existing within the holder, a cylindrical thread advancer on which the thread of the transferred bobbin falls when cut, bearings on the thread holder in which the advancer is rotatably mounted, and means rotating the advancer in a direction to move a thread resting thereon toward said thread holder.

9. The thread controller set forth in claim 8 wherein guard means overhangs said bearings to prevent the thread of the transferred bobbin from falling onto said bearings.

10. In thread controlling means for a loom having a group of threads extending from reserve bobbins into the intake mouth of a pneumatic thread holder within which subatmospheric pressures exist and wherein the thread of a transferred bobbin is cut from the cloth being woven, a thread advancer rotating during loom operation under said thread and on which the latter falls when cut, the top of said advancer turning toward said thread holder.

11. The thread controlling means set forth in claim 10 wherein a stripper between the thread holder and the advancer engages the latter below a line leading from the top of the advancer to the intake mouth of the thread holder.

12. In thread control means for a loom having threads extending from reserve bobbins in a magazine and wherein the thread of a transferred bobbin is cut and falls from the cloth being woven, a pneumatic thread holder into which said threads are drawn by subatmospheric pressures existing within the holder, a thread advancer between the magazine and thread holder mounted for rotation and on which the cut thread falls, and means continuously rotating said advancer during loom operation in a direction to move said thread toward said thread holder.

13. In thread control means for a loom having a part which rotates continuously during loom operation and having also a group of threads extending from reserve bobbins in a magazine into the intake mouth of a pneumatic thread holder and wherein the thread of a transferred bobbin is cut, a rotatable thread advancer adjacent to the thread holder on whichthe cut thread falls, and means operatively connected to said part of the loom continuously rotating said" advancer during loom operationin a 'direction to move said thread toward said thread holder.

14. The structure, set forth in claim 12 wherein said means includes a friction disk secured tov said part of the loomand a irictionroller engaging the disk and operatively connected to said advancer.

15. The structure set forth in claim 12 wherein said part of the loom is a shaft having a fricn di k secured he e o a i me cludes a roller engaging the disk and rotated thereby and a flexible shaft operatively connecting the roller and advancer.

16. In thread controlling means for a loom having a group of threads extending from reserve bobbins in a magazine into a pneumatic thread holder within which subatniospheric pressures exist and wherein the thread of a transferred bobbin while extending into, the thread holder is cut at a point spaced from the latter andfalls, a thread advancer located between said thread holder and said point under the thread of the transferred bobbin and onto which the thread falls when cutat said point, and means operative to move the advancer ina direction to cause the latter to advance said thread toward the thread o d?!- RICHARD G. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,760,925 Wattie June 3, 1930 1,807,768 Wattie June 2, 1931 2,365,668 Wakefield Dec. 26, 1944 

